The Bandwagon Syndrome and Polarization

[PetrChelcicky]

On the whole, it is normal that divisions and polarizations rise and sink. America was very polarized in the Goldwater election (then called "the unmaking of the American consensus"). (It has been said that the Goldwater voters won over the Republican Party, but only on the long run, of course not as swift as the Trump voters nowadays.) But thereafter the temperature dropped again. So, are there parallels between the Goldwater era and our era?
(One parallel is in my eyes that parts of the Left were then, and are now, on a kind of crusade. Crusaders can quickly be seen as dangerous. And they tend to lose contact even to people who might be on their side, but are not completely at the height of the crusader's insights.)
But on the whole the temperature tends to drop again, because in a two-party system people are used to expect that from time to time the other party will win. And this is quite useful, because thus a progressive government has an opportunity to test new ideas, and a conservative government has an opportunity to abolish reforms which have not obviously stood the test.

Just here begins the actual problem: The liberal media have expressively said that their aim is an eternal, irrevertible progressive majority, and that this majority shall be created by immigration. I am not sure that this will work - the Republicans have made good use of Eastern European and Cuban immigrants in the past -, but as a project it is very disinquieting and stirs up some of the polarization of today.

[Josh]

dailykos is bad - dailykos is good
Gothard is bad - Gothard is good
Epoch Times is bad - Epoch times is good
Charity is bad - Charity is good

Continued -

Education is bad - education is good
Money is bad - money is good
Business is bad - business is good
CRT is bad - CRT is good
Marxism is bad - Marxism is good
BLM is bad - BLM is good
Socialism is bad - socialism is good
Capitalism is bad - Capitalism is good
Rock music is bad - Rock music is good

One of the signs of moral relativism is being unable to say that immoral things are, well, bad.

When it comes to money, I would defer to what scripture has to say about it, for example. As opposed to this equivocating of "Well, it's okay to make lots of money as long as you donate it to a mission org."

[joshuabgood]

dailykos is bad - dailykos is good
Gothard is bad - Gothard is good
Epoch Times is bad - Epoch times is good
Charity is bad - Charity is good

Continued -

Education is bad - education is good
Money is bad - money is good
Business is bad - business is good
CRT is bad - CRT is good
Marxism is bad - Marxism is good
BLM is bad - BLM is good
Socialism is bad - socialism is good
Capitalism is bad - Capitalism is good
Rock music is bad - Rock music is good

One of the signs of moral relativism is being unable to say that immoral things are, well, bad.

When it comes to money, I would defer to what scripture has to say about it, for example. As opposed to this equivocating of "Well, it's okay to make lots of money as long as you donate it to a mission org."

Not being judgmental is good - not being judgmental is bad

[Ernie]

Judge righteous judgment and not according to appearences.

If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

-Jesus

If you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.

-Paul

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.

-Jesus

I think there is a place for judgement, but there are qualifications for who should do the judging, and motives must be determined. Even exceptions must be given. It seems to me that persons who naturally get on bandwagons and who love polarization aren't very suited for exercising good judgment.

[Sunbeam]

True bandwagon syndrome would manifest itself in glomming on to whatever is new and wildly popular and winning at any given moment, and then abandoning it when something else came along.

A person can be fiercely loyal to a given political party or cause (which is what I think Ernie is describing) without having hopped on a bandwagon at all.

Having said that, while there are sometimes aspects of a given cause that are bad and others that are good, I have noticed that there are often persons who will attempt to separate inseparable parts of a cause in the name of discretion. This is not discretion at all. It is actually the epitome of indiscretion.

One must not bless Robinhood's "benevolence" to the poor when he stole what was not his to facilitate it.
Noble ends do not justify ignoble means.

[Ernie]

Welcome back Sunbeam!

Thanks for contributing.

[Sunbeam]

Welcome back Sunbeam!

Thanks for contributing.

Thank you! I notice I hadn't checked in since mid-May.
MN didn't remember me.
I told it to remember me, but it refused.

[temporal1]

Sunbeam:
.. One must not bless Robinhood's "benevolence" to the poor when he stole what was not his to facilitate it.
Noble ends do not justify ignoble means.

“The Robin Hood Complex”
https://www.sbschurchofchrist.com/index ... od-complex

I believe people, in general, want to help others.
However, with this sentiment comes responsibility. As Christians, we have the responsibility to do as God commands us to do.
We cannot or better stated, should not act in any way that is contrary to or violates any command or principle set forth by our creator. There is an old saying “two wrongs don’t make a right”.

Robin Hood was a fictional character that dates back to the15th century. His character was developed because of the cruelty of the aristocratic class and the deep poverty of the lower class. The character was portrayed as a hero because he “stole from the rich to give to the poor.” This was considered noble, honorable, heroic, and just simply the right thing to do. Unfortunately, there are many who feel the same way today. The rich have been vilified as greedy, selfish, and tyrannical, this is not to say that some of the rich maybe that way, but by no means can one be labeled that way just because they are rich. For this article, I would like to refer to this attitude and the above-mentioned practice of stealing from the rich to give to the poor, as the “Robin Hood Complex”.

As a Christian, I am compelled and commanded to use the Bible as my standard for all issues of right and wrong and even in those issues that might not be issues of right or wrong, for issues of liberty are still to be guided by God’s Word.

The “Robin Hood Complex” is against the will of God because it is thievery.
God’s word has always prohibited stealing from anyone, no matter the cause or purpose.
God’s command is quite simple, “Thou Shalt Not Steal” (Ex 20:15). In Exodus chapter 22, several manners in which stealing takes place are addressed, as well as the penalties for such. This command is stated in many passages of both the Old and New Testament (Leviticus 19:11; Deuteronomy 5:19; Romans 13:9; Ephesians 4:28). Notice, even if one is perceived to steal for “good reason,” there must still be restitution given to the one who is the victim of that thievery (Proverbs 6:29-30). The context of this passage speaks to the evil nature of adultery, however; it also speaks to the notion of thievery as being necessary and right under the guise of situational-ism.

You see, according to the Word of God, stealing is stealing!
The legend of “Robin Hood” is that of a glorified thief who supposedly steals for a noble cause.
However, because he supposedly gave his ill-gotten gain to the poor, it still makes him no less a thief.

Biblical benevolence has always been voluntary.
Israel when they stripped their fields, was not to strip all of them but were to leave a portion of it to the fatherless, stranger and widow (Deuteronomy 24:21). The principle is consistent even in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 8:1-12). The Bible tells us we are to give purposefully, willing and cheerfully if we are to please God (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Another reason the “Robin Hood Complex” is against the will of God, is because it vilifies the rich, as previously stated earlier.
Our society has been told and sold on the idea that the rich are evil. It is believed that somehow the rich must be punished and pay for the fact they are rich. We are told that we must take the riches from the rich and distribute it to those who are in need and even more sad, those who are in want! It is taught that the rich had to become so on the backs of the poor or that they have inherited their wealth from the parents or grandparents who became rich through those means. We see this manifested in our country through the inheritance and death tax penalty. It is class warfare at its finest. However, what does God say about this?

The Bible does not condemn the rich or wealthy.
Jesus does speak of its difficulty in relation to serving God (Matthew 19:24; Luke 6:22-24).
The inspired apostle Paul speaks about the dangers of wealth and serving God (1 Timothy 6:1-10) …

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:6–10 KJV)

These passages contain a very popular misquote: “Money is the root of all evil”. The passage states, “the love of money” is the root of all evil”. Much good can be done with money by those who have it. Pauls states that the rich should give …

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (1 Timothy 6:17–19 KJV)

Notice that the rich should give willingly, not the poor take forcefully.
There are many other passages that show that being rich is not inherently sinful. Jesus said we will always have the poor with us (Matthew 26:11). I believe this also tells we will also have the rich with us also.

It is not the responsibility of the wealthy to make me wealthy with their wealth, but it is my responsibility, especially as a Christian, to be content with what I have, knowing that through Christ I am rich, even when I am poor (2 Corinthians 8:9) and do as I can for others with what I have (2 Corinthians 8:12-14).

To conclude, based on the word of God, anyone who tells me he will take from others to give to me is a thief and must be avoided!

Thoughts?

[Sunbeam]

I agree with it quite entirely.

[steve-in-kville]

Welcome back Sunbeam!

Thanks for contributing.

Thank you! I notice I hadn't checked in since mid-May.
MN didn't remember me.
I told it to remember me, but it refused.

There are a handful of members who I noticed haven't participated in several months. I wish they'd stop around again